One of the top causes for ER visits this winter:
Kids, toddlers and infants getting dosed with over the counter drugs in an attempt to relieve cold symptoms. My gosh people. This is not accidental opening the bottle and kid drinking the medicine. These poisonings are done by parents.

Notice I said that the parents 'dosed with drugs in an attempt to relieve cold symptoms'.

That means they are not treating the cold or preventing it from happening - they are only attempting to relieve the symptoms. And at the same time, making their kid worse and sending them to the ER for a simple cold.
  • Treat the cause of the cold - not the symptoms of it.
  • Don't use medications on your kid if you can help it.
  • There are loads of alternative treatments for kids and colds.
  • FOLLOW the instructions on the bottle if you're gonna dose the kid with the medicine.
  • Do not use aspirin for your kids - ever ever ever. Period.
A few things you can do for your kids when they are down with a cold:
  • Multivitamin for kids
    • See what is out there in terms of a good multivitamin for kids. There are many out there with food coloring, additives, preservatives, low nutrient value.
    • My kids like the DaVinci Omni Jr Children's Chewable. It tastes good, has loads of good nutrients and none of the other garbage you see in many commercial brands.
  • Vitamin D Levels
    • Vitamin D levels are very low during the winter months. Low vitamin D = immune weakness. Have your doctor measure your kid's 'serum 25 hydroxy vitamin D3 level' and see what the value is. If low, then you should supplement your kid, and yourself, with vitamin D3. NOT Vitamin D2 - vitamin D2 is garbage. D2 is found in fortified milk products and is not a viable form of vitamin D.
    • Many physicians will dose vitamin D3 around 2000 IU/day for a kid and about 6000 IU to 8000 IU for an adult per day. Make sure to dose it with food as it is a fat soluble vitamin.
    • Liquid vitamin D3 is preferred and make sure it is free of preservatives, additives and other garbage. There is no need for that. It doesn't taste good so give it on a spoon of almond butter or something fatty and tasty.
  • Avoid Dairy Products
    • Limit dairy products during your kid's cold. Dairy products are a huge problem for many kids and parents and doctors are not aware of this. Dairy causes an immense amount of mucous build up in kids - and adults.
    • More mucous is definitely not what you want during sickness.
    • I personally do not offer my kids dairy at all in our home. We use almond milk which we make.
    • Almond milk: soak almonds overnight in a glass of water. Rinse well three times in the morning. Throw in blender with a cup of water. Blend. Add maple syrup to taste. (the real stuff people - not fake maple syrup). Done. Cheap. Tasty. Nutritious.
  • Get a humidifier with some essential oils
    • Your kid is coughing and hacking with thick mucous not coming out, they cannot breathe and they are worse at night. Sound familiar?
    • Get a cheap humidifier from your local pharmacy
    • Fill it with FILTERED water (so you don't make your kid breathe chlorine gas)
    • Add about 1 tablespoon of salt
    • Add a few drops of Eucalyptus essential oil, Cedar essential oil and Thymus essential oil. Don't over do it - 2 drops of each is plenty in the humidifier.
  • Stuffed Nose
    • The kids cannot breathe, no mucous comes out and they sound completely plugged up.
    • A couple things you can do:
      • Use the humidifier at night with the essential oils
      • Stop the milk products for a few weeks - remember? Good.
      • Euphorbium Sinus spray is very effective at helping loosen mucous. I began using it on my kids - with some difficulty at first. They didn't like it. But I found that if I brought a book that they liked, I could have them breathe in deeply and squirt one spray into their nostril. That worked fine. It also was easier to give the next time as they found that it actually was allowing them to begin breathing through their nose again.
  • Berries
    • Get some blueberries - frozen. Put them in their breakfast cereal. Thaw them out and let them eat them like candy. Very good immune support. Get organic if you can.
  • Avoid sugar
    • A bit of sugar turns off the immune function for about 6 hours. You don't want this when sick. Turn to the blueberries and other brightly colored fruit.
    • Avoid the most toxic dirty dozen fruits and vegetables - highly sprayed - especially strawberries.
  • Crush Garlic
    • Crush a clove or two of garlic.
    • Put in a small breathable bag - like cheese cloth or a thin sock.
    • Hang it by their bed.
    • Garlic oils are a very very potent antibacterial and antiviral.
That is a great start. You do most of those things and your kids will be on the road to recovery.

I have never used any over-the-counter cold medications on our kids and they do very well in recovering as we follow the above suggestions.

Any questions or comments, please post them. I will respond.

Be well.

Dr Ben

Labels: cold medicines, colds, common cold, flu, frequent colds, nasal congestion, natural cold treatments